Ruka's Pet Shop
by Lady Drama
Summary: AU. Natsume Hyuuga in a pet shop. What could possibly go wrong? Especially when the shop assistant is Mikan Sakura? COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Gakuen Alice._

**Dedication:** _GraySisters_

**Beta Reader:** _PoisonLadyAnissina_

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><p>Natsume Hyuuga was a shrewd, cold, calculating businessman who tore his rivals' corporations and reputations apart mercilessly. He was driven, ambitious and simply radiated a forbidding aura that made most people shrink away. Any over-enthusiastic do-gooder, who assumed that his tough exterior concealed a soft heart, was swiftly informed of the error of his or her thinking by a look from his narrowed eyes.<p>

Eyes that were currently focused on a pitiful puppy curled up near his feet. He tried to kick the little thing off but the puppy dug its tiny teeth into his shoes, ruining the expensive hand-made leather. Gritting his teeth, Natsume gave the little dog a ferocious glare that would have sent any of his employees running towards the nearest water cooler to douse themselves. The pup, on the other hand, scowled right back at him. Natsume looked around a little uncertainly. Was it even possible for canines to scowl? And where was his troublesome sister, Aoi, who had dragged him to the pet shop to buy her a pet for her birthday?

Hesitantly, he tried to pull his leg away. The little ball of brown fur actually growled at that. "Oh for bloody hell's..." he muttered.

A ripping sound below informed him that his extremely costly trousers would no longer be suitable for wear. With an exasperated sigh, he pushed his black hair out of his eyes and looked down at the puppy that was currently wagging its tail in a self-satisfied manner.

However, before he could admonish the creature, his cell phone rang. It was his secretary.

"Yes?" he said, flipping the phone open.

"Sir. I mean, Mr. Hyuuga. Sir."

"Yes?" he asked again, impatiently.

"Sir, your sister has left a message for you."

"Well?"

"She said that she was extremely disappointed in your f-failure to show up today, as you had promised to do so."

"I'm sure my sister wasn't half that polite," he commented dryly. "But what's she talking about? I've been standing at the pet shop for the past ten minutes. She's the one who's late."

To his dismay, he felt something cold seep through his socks and curl his toes. Looking down, he saw that the pup had decided to relieve itself. On his shoe.

Holding his temper back with difficulty, he questioned sharply, "Where was she calling from?"

He heard the noise of papers falling from his startled secretary's desk. "The Animal Shelter, sir."

He didn't bother saying goodbye as he snapped the phone shut in frustration. His sister was waiting for him at an animal centre rather than this pet shop, halfway across town while he was standing around with his foot in an extremely stinky puddle. He cursed aloud at the sheer idiocy of the situation. If only Aoi had made it clear to him instead of leaving an ambiguous message like 'Meet me tomorrow during your lunch hour. I want a pet for my birthday' on his voice-mail.

"Bloody fucking shit!" repeated another voice gleefully.

He whirled around to look at the person who had dared to insult him so. Not many people went out of their way to pick a fight with the tall, muscular man who had been among the country's best amateur boxers in college.

He spotted a parrot perched upon a golden bar, happily repeating his earlier comments in a sing-song voice. Finally, it finished its recital with, "Bad boy! Very bad!"

Natsume groaned. Just what he needed to further brighten his day. A patronising parrot which criticised his morals and language.

He looked down and saw that his sudden movement had dislodged the puppy, which was now gearing up for a second attack. Slowly, he backed away from the growling creature. Unfortunately for Natsume, he didn't have eyes in the back of his head and banged into some cages which were kept behind him.

With a loud clanging noise they fell to the floor and snapped open. Natsume raised his hands protectively in front of his face as a flock of birds flew past him. A couple of them tried pecking at his coat with their sharp beaks but they mercifully decided that it was not a particularly tasty treat. However, a dove decided that his head would make a fantastic nesting spot and settled there comfortably.

He started waving his hands about agitatedly to get rid of the birds, but when that didn't work, settled for reaching up and plucking the indignant bird out of his hair. But he was standing right under a shelf, which had several bowls with goldfish swimming in them. His palm banged against a bowl with two angelfish swimming peacefully in it and it crashed to the floor. A variety of cats, which had been napping in nearby cages woke up as the smell of fresh fish reached their nostrils. The sound of plaintive yowling filled the air, along with the yelps of the infernal puppy that had started this mess.

Natsume tried to hurriedly back away from the chaos of the still flapping birds' wings, while mentally calculating what this would cost him. His already much-abused shoes slipped on the puddle of water left behind by the shattered goldfish bowl and as he fell, his grip on the dove loosened. The bird began to attack its attacker at once, its sharp beak making small cuts on his arms that made him wince.

Moving on blind instinct, he dragged himself to the nearest door and hurled himself into the dark room, banging the door shut behind him. He sat down heavily, with his back to the door and the scent of cleaning supplies reached his nostrils.

A small fist shot out and punched him in the eye. Mentally vowing to disinherit his younger sister as soon as he returned to his office, Natsume grabbed his assailant's arm. It was far smaller than he had expected judging by the force behind it and distinctly feminine. He pulled the unknown person closer, twisting her arm behind her back. To his surprise, she didn't cry out for help. Rather she picked up an old  
>dust-encrusted broomstick that had been lying on the floor near them and walloped him on the head with it with all her might. Coughing at the dust particles released by the blow, he thanked God that she had caught him with the soft end rather than the wooden one.<p>

"Hey! Stop that!"

"Are you a robber?"

"Who in their right mind would want to rob this mad-house? Besides, do you actually expect a real thief to admit that he's one after he's been intercepted?"

"Stop dodging my question!"

Natsume warily peered into the darkness for any signs of an approaching attack. "No."

"Then what are you doing here?" the girl demanded.

"Escaping the wild animals outside."

He could sense the girl's confusion as she brushed past him and reached forward to open the door.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

"No, you'd just trust a potential thief, I suppose," she retorted sarcastically.

However before she could open the door further than a crack, noises that sounded vaguely like the  
>apocalypse reached them and a particularly distraught chicken banged its head against the door.<p>

"What happened here?" she almost shrieked.

Wincing a little, Natsume adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "I am willing to pay for the damage."  
>Before she could reply, a duck that was being chased by a bulldog entered through the tiny crack in the doorway.<p>

Hastily, the girl slammed the door shut.

"What did you do?"

Natsume scowled in the darkness. "Nothing."

"Those are domesticated animals, not wild ones! How could you agitate them so much?"

"I told you, I didn't do anything. And doesn't this bloody room have a light bulb?"

She replied a little stiffly. "We only store some cleaning supplies and old cages here. There is no need for a light."

"Can't you get out there and calm those animals down?"

A strand of her hair hit him as she shook her head. "Only my boss can do that. I'm good with the animals but his talent is something else." She almost sighed at the end.

"You have a crush on him."

"What? No! I admire his way with the animals that's all!"

Natsume snorted. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"And he's dating someone else," she added defensively.

"How utterly pathetic."

"Oh, shut up!"

Shrugging, he did as she asked and didn't speak. The silence lasted under a minute.

"What's the time?" she asked him.

He glanced at his wristwatch's luminous dial and said, "2:00 pm."

She let out a soft moan and plopped herself down on the floor. "Might as well sit down. Ruka won't be back for an hour."

"When did he leave?"

"Around one."

"Your boss takes two hours to eat his lunch?" he asked, in a disbelieving tone.

"Not usually, no. But he said he had a lunch date today."

"No other shop assistants?"

"Nope. Just me."

Resigned, Natsume sat down. Another precious few second passed in silence before the girl said, "Why did you think I like him?"

Natsume had been mentally preparing an apology for the client whose meeting he'd undoubtedly be missing today.

"Hn?"

"Ruka," she repeated obligingly, "Why did you think I had a thing for him?"

"Just a hunch," he replied, searching through his pockets for his cell phone.

"Based on?" she persisted.

"Fucking..."

"WHAT?"

"I dropped my cell outside," he explained.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Why did you think there was something between Ruka and me?"

"Is there?"

"No! I love him like my older brother! But for some reason, people always think we're dating. Last week an old woman, who'd bought a tabby cat from us, wished us a happy married life."

"Hn."

"Reply properly!"

He heartily wished that death glares worked in the dark.

"Go away," he said in the most chilling tones that he could muster with his foot soaked in a puppy's pee.

"Where to? It's a jungle outside. Look, can't you talk just a little bit," she coaxed, "I hate silences."

"Fine. If that'll make you promise to be less annoying," he conceded. A sharp businessman knew a hopeless case when he saw one.

"I promise," she replied quickly.

"What do you want to talk about?"

There was silence for a moment, before she brightly said, "Food!"

"Food?" he asked sceptically.

"Uh-huh. I love howalons. What's your favourite food?"

"Italian."

"Have you ever seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa?"

Her whirlwind change of subject left him slightly bewildered.

"Yes."

"Cool! So how do they make it lean?"

"I believe its some kind of weakness in the building's foundations."

"Oh," she sounded disappointed. "I thought there'd be some cool conspiracy theory behind it. Like the Louvre."

"The Louvre?"

"Didn't you see the Da Vinci Code?"

"No."

"It was simply amazing!" She launched into a detailed explanation of plot twists, turns and traps that strangely enough made perfect sense to Natsume.

"Do you like watching movies?"

"No."

She silently contemplated the horrors of a non-movie watcher's lifestyle.

"What do you like to do then?"

He shrugged. "Work. Sports."

"Which sports?" she valiantly persisted.

"Football, basketball, baseball."

"So you like balls."

He was silent for a moment while she hastily backtracked, "Not like that! I meant sports that involve balls and... er... hand-eye coordination and um... moving around... and stuff."

Natsume looked at the dusty ceiling and requested divine intervention.

"Not that you aren't fit," the girl continued to babble, "You have very nice muscles, I'm sure."

"It's too dark for you to see that," he pointed out, "I could be an out-of-shape desk jockey."

"Oh... um... I'm sure you'll still look good!"

"You actually believe that?"

Natsume wondered if she was sane.

"Of course!" Warming up to her theme she continued, "I'm sure there are lots of girls who'd love to date  
>you!"<p>

A picture of the scarily eager Sumire Shouda presented itself before Natsume eyes and he shuddered slightly.

"Are you cold?"

"No."

"Anyway, like I was saying, you have tons of amazing qualities! Don't put yourself down!"

"And you gleaned all that from a few words worth of conversation in a dark room?"

"Yes. I'm a great judge of people. At least, that's what Ruka says. And this one time, I..."

"List them."

"What?"

"My sterling qualities. Let's hear them, Judge."

"You... er... you have a deep voice!"

"That's a virtue?"

"I thought we were talking about things girls like," she said defensively, "Anyway, girls like voices like that. Deep but not too husky. Sort of low in a pleasant way. Sexy."

"If you're trying to flirt you're terrible at it."

"No! Besides I was going to add almost like Ruka's."

She was silent for a moment and then sighed. "I can't believe I used to like him."

"So what happened?"

"Sorry?"

"Used to. That's past tense, isn't it?"

"I guess I just grew out of it. Got over him."

"Hn."

"Now, don't get me wrong. Ruka's a perfect guy. But sometimes I think he's just a little too perfect, you  
>know what I mean?"<p>

"No."

She giggled. "What about you? What's your love going to be like?"

"Latest, second-generation carbon-ceramic brakes, new aerodynamic innovations like wheel doughnuts which increase aerodynamic efficiency as well as improve brake cooling, Supersport tires developed by Michelin..."

"Are you talking about a car?"

"2011 Ferrari 599 GTO."

"Men," she said with feeling.

A sound of clanging bells reached them and the girl jumped up at once and opened the door a little bit.  
>"Ruka's here! Oh, looks like he bought his date too."<p>

The sound of a startled exclamation reached Natsume's ears, followed by an almost immediate reduction in the barking, mewling, clucking and various other animal noises emanating from the other side of the door.

"See?" said the girl proudly, "Ruka's skill with animals is just beyond ordinary."

"Hn."

After about two minutes, she peeked outside yet again and loudly announced, "It's safe!"

"There's no need to shout. I'm sitting right next to you."

In the dim light from outside, Natsume caught sight of her pout as she muttered, "Killjoy."

He opened the door and saw that all the animals were indeed back in their respective cages. He stepped out cautiously and then turned to face the girl, saying, "So how much will the bill b..."

His voice broke off as she stepped outside after him. The girl was a little younger than him, with straight brown hair that she'd tossed back in a long braid and wide brown eyes. She was wearing a T-Shirt advertising the store in bright colours and the shiny tag pinned to it said, 'Mikan Sakura'. Looking at her dust covered jeans and messy hair, most people would have seen a slightly bedraggled shop assistant.

Natsume saw the twinkling eyes and generous mouth that seemed to be made for smiling. Under his fascinated gaze, her lips curved upward into a bright smile as she said, "Don't worry about that! There doesn't seem to be any harm done, so it's fine."

"Mikan?"

She waved to someone standing behind his shoulder and he reluctantly turned to see who it was. A blonde man stood there, staring at her with his blue eyes narrowed. "What happened in here?"

Natsume opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off saying, "Sorry Ruka, I overturned the cages."

"Again?" Ruka shook his head.

"Sorry," repeated Mikan.

"Anyway," he said, "There's a customer waiting for us right now, so we'll sort this out later. Aoi here wants a puppy for her birthday."

To his surprise, Natsume saw his sister walk into the shop, setting the bells clanging once more. "Sorry Ruka, finding a parking spot out there was... Natsume! What are you doing here?"

A soft whining interrupted them. The brown dog that had tortured Natsume earlier was sadly pawing against his cage's lock. As Aoi rushed forward to coo over him, her brother heard Mikan softly inquire about Ruka's date.

The blonde boy grimaced and said, "Hotaru and I broke up."

"Why?" asked Mikan, looking aghast, "You two were perfect!"

"No we weren't. Besides," said Ruka, looking at Aoi, "It may have been for the best. Anyway, I met Aoi at the restuarant after Hotaru left and we started chatting. She said she'd already been to the Animal Shelter but none of the dogs there really took her fancy. Since it's her birthday, try your best to find her someone nice."

As Mikan nodded and went to show his sister the other puppies, Natsume wondered whether he should break the other guy's jaw right away or wait until he had actually asked Aoi out, as he undoubetedly would in the next few days..

"Natsume!"

He cast an enquiring look at Aoi, who was now standing next to Mikan, holding what looked suspiciously like...

"I've decided on this brown puppy!"

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><p><em>Ouch! Poor Natsume!<em>


End file.
